Improved gold-beating machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OEPICE.Y

MATTHEvS7 HAsTINGs, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED GOLD-SEATING MACHINE.

Specification forming part o f Letters Patent No. lI 8,394, dated June27, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW HA'sTINes, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,have invented an Improved Gold-Beatin g Machine; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

My invention consists, first, in the employment, for beatin g gold, of avertically-guided hammer, which is raised and permitted to fall withuniform force by the mechanism hereinafter described, or the equivalentto the same; secondly, in certain devices, fully described hereinafter,for arresting the descent of the" hammer.,

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use; myinvention, I will now proceed to' describe it construction andoperation.

On referenccto the accompanying drawings,

which form apart of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation ofmy improved goldbeatingmachine; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation, and Fig.3 a plan view.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

To the base A of the machine are secured two side frames, B and B',which are connected together by the cross-pieces C, C', and C and thecross-stays D D.

To the base A', between the uprights B B', is secured an anvil,E,andinbrackets attached to the cross-pieces C C slides a vertical rod, F, tothe lower end of which'fis secured a hammer, a. Y

In brackets b attached to the side frames B turns a shaft, G, on whichis a toothed wheel, c, the latter gearing into a similar wheel, c', on ashaft, a', which turns in the front end of a rock-frame, H, hung betweenthe side frames B.

Adjacent to the wheel c on the shaft G is a cam,f, and on one end of theshaft is a flywheel, I, and on the other a driving-pulley, l.

Opposite the cam f on the shaft G is secured a cam,f, the cams f and f',during a part of the revolution, bearing simultaneously one against eachside of the rod F.

To a' shaft, K, which turns in the side frames, B B', below7 therock-frame H, arc secured the arms L and 0, the front end of the former,

when depressed, bearing against the inner side of the bar F, theopposite side of the said bar being in contact with a plate, q, whichprojects from the upper edge ofthe crosspiece C".

tend to depress the latter and maintain the l camf in contact with therod F.

To the arm O of the shaft K is connected the, upper end of a rod, P, thelower end of the latter being jointed to the lever M between the pin eand the foot-plate 71.. v

`Motion is imparted to the shaft G, so that the latter and the shaft Grshall rotate in the directions of the arrows, Fig. 2, the peripheries ofthe cams f being brought in contact with the rod F and raising the samefrom the anvil. The package technically termed the mold, which iscomposed of layers of goldbeaters7 skins and intervening sheets ofgold," is then placed upon the face of the anvil E and held by theattendant, so that on the cams f turning away from the rod F the latterwill descendand the hammer a be brought smartly on the top of the mold.As the cams revolve the rod F is raised and allowed to drop as before,the attendant moving the mold after each blow, so that it shall bestruck by the hammer a in the same manner as when it is beaten by hand.When it is necessary to arrest the descent of the hammer the attendantmust depress the outer end of the lever M with Vhis foot, when therock-frame H will be raised and the cam f be removed from contact withthe rod. At. the same time the arm L is brought against the rod, whichis thus confined between the said arm and the plate g. On releasing theend of the lever M the weighti will restore the lattervand the partsconnected with the same to their original positions.

Gare should be'taken to drive the machine at such a uniform speed thatthe rod F may be caught by the cams as the hammer rebounds from themold, for, should the latter bestruck bythe 4hammer after it hasrebounded from the same and before being again raised by the l cams, theinequality in the force of the blows will have a tendency to injuriously shatter the gold.

Attempts have been heretofore made to beat gold by machinery, theordinary tilt-hammer having been used, in all cases without success,owing, Ibelieve, to the springing of the shaft of the hammer when theblow is struck, and'to the consequent indirectness ofthe blow.

After many careful experimentslhave found that by the use of ahammer socarefully guided that it can fall perpendicularly Without any lateralspring and with uniform force on the mold the gold may be beaten aseffectually as by hand, While the necessity of employing skilledmechanics is avoided.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. Theemployment, for beating gold7 of a verticallyguided hammer7 which israised andpermitted to fall with uniform force by the mechanism hereindescribed, or the equivalent to the same.

2. The shaft K, with its arm L, the rockframe H, and cam f', the Wholebeing arranged for joint action on the rod F substantially as and forthe purpose herein set forth.

In testimony WhereofI have signed my name tothis specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

M. HASTINGS.

Vitnesses:

HENRY HoWsoN, JOHN WHITE.

